After the Jews in Rome who had come to hear Paul had departed amidst great disputation among themselves, the book of Acts leaves Paul dwelling for two whole years in his own rented home. We might say that he was under “house arrest.” During this time he was preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ without hindrance to everyone he could. Paul had already written several letters, most likely Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians. While imprisoned at Rome, he wrote Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon.

Fairly reliable historical tradition says that Paul was released from his imprisonment and spent a couple of years travelling and preaching, perhaps as far as Spain (Romans 15:28). During this time he stationed Timothy at Ephesus and wrote 1 Timothy to him, and also stationed Titus on Crete and wrote Titus to him. The tradition then states that Paul was rearrested, taken to Rome, and imprisoned a second time. While there, he wrote 2 Timothy shortly before his death, which is generally thought to have been at Rome around A. D. 66 by beheading at the command of Nero.

Other inspired apostles and prophets were also writing letters to Christians in the latter part of the first century. No one knows exactly who penned the book of Hebrews, but if Paul wrote it, as many believe, it most likely was during his last days of freedom before his second imprisonment. A man named James, believed to have been the Lord’s brother (cf. Galatians 1:19), wrote an epistle, the apostle Peter penned two, the apostle John provided three, and Jude, also thought to be a brother to Christ, did one. These letters by Paul and the others, along with the four gospel accounts of Jesus’s life, the church history in Acts, and the final book of Revelation which we shall notice in the next two articles, make up the New Testament.

Questions

How long did Paul dwell in his own rented home at Rome?

How many letters did Paul write while imprisoned?

What does tradition say happened to Paul after this first imprisonment?

Where did he station Timothy?

Where did he station Titus?

Who are letter writers James and Jude generally believed to have been?

What “office” did letter writers Peter and John occupy?

What do we call the document beginning with the gospels and ending with Revelation?

Gilson (population approximately 250) is located in upper-western Illinois about 10 miles southeast of Galesburg. The town was platted in Haw Creek Township in the lower-central portion of Knox County in 1857. Knox County Highway 12 is the main road to Gilson. County Highway 12 connects Gilson to Illinois Route 97 just west of Gilson. The At & St Railroad travels through Gilson as well. Branches of the Little Haw Creek flow by the north and east sides of town. Haw Creek Township High School was organized in 1902 and the frame building, now known as Gilson School, was completed the following year. When school consolidation took place in 1948, the Gilson grade school was moved into the building and high school age students started attending school in Knoxville. The grade school was closed at the end of the 1976-77 school year and sat empty until the Gilson School Foundation formed in 1996 and purchased the building in 1997. The old school is the largest remaining all wood building in Knox County. It was remodeled in 1928-29 with a walnut gymnasium added on the top story and one classroom on the northwest corner. The foundation is in the process of restoring the building with the goal to not only preserve the structure, but also to use it for community events. Former students have been donating memorabilia for a museum, including scrapbooks and photographs from the yearly class trips.

Maquon (population 318) is located in western Illinois in southwestern Knox County. Illinois Route 97 is the main road leading to and from town and leads right to Galesburg, Maquon’s big neighbor located 15 miles to the northwest. The At & St Railroad also runs some tracks through Maquon. Maquon lays a great claim to fame in that it is the ONLY town in the entire world named Maquon. Maquon traces education for its children to the mid to late 1800s. Fruit Hill School was built in 1882 on a hillside plot of ground purchased for $50 from Margaret McWilliams. The first teacher hired was a Mr. Trewit for $35 per month. Mrs. Hortense White was the last teacher at the school in 1949. After serving as an educational site for 68 years, the one-room building was used only for community events until it was abandoned in the 1950’s. In August 1981, the school was moved to a lot at the south end of West Street in Maquon by the Maquon Historical Association, sponsors of the project to restore and preserve this vanishing bit of Americana. A basement under the building, completed and dedicated in September 1984, now houses a museum containing historical items and Native American artifacts from the area.

Books reviewed in September of 2016 include:
September 30, 2016–The Meaning of the Dead Sea Scrolls: The Documents that Shed a Brilliant New Light on Christianity
September 27, 2016–Pitchin’ A Fit!: Overcoming Angry and Stressed-Out Parenting
September 26, 2016–The Double Cousins and the Mystery of the Russian Jewels
September 25, 2016–Stretching the Truth: Sweet Valley Twins #13
September 24, 2016–Cowbella and the Bad Dream
September 22, 2016–The Teen-Ager You’re Dating: A Christian View of Sex, About Boys for Girls–About Girls for Boys
September 20, 2016–Benjamin Harrison: The 23rd President, 1889-1893
September 15, 2016–Remember Me
September 13, 2016–No Children, No Pets
September 10, 2016–Women of the Bible
September 8, 2016–Trilby
September 7, 2016–Full-Time Parenting: A Guide to Family-Based Discipleship
September 6, 2016–The Green Children
September 3, 2016–The Razing of the Id / The Chrietzberg Chronicles: A Biography of Betrayal and Assassination of a Beautiful Friendship and a Battle Between Good and Evil
September 1, 2016–Lee Harvey Oswald On Trial: A Novel

The winner of our Book of the Month Award for September is:

No Children, No Pets by Marion Holland

The runner up is:

The Green Children by Kenny Chumbley

Books that we are currently reading and will review in the near future are:The Beast That Crouches at the Door by David FohrmanThe True Gift by Patricia MacLachlanThe Complete Poetical Works by James Whitcomb RileyChasing Vermeer by Blue BalliettWhatever Became of Sin? by Karl Menninger

The Southwestern Farm and home Museum is an Illinois not-for-profit corporation. Our goal is to provide a lifetime of education in a few hours. All costs of construction came from private contributions and many fundraising events as well as much donated labor. The Farm and Home Museum is a 4000 square foot living memorial to Southwestern area farmers. It presents historical and educational adventures to visitors interested in today’s farmers and farming and yesterday’s rural living in America. The Museum is a shrine to unsung farmers who have made Americans the most abundantly-fed people the world has ever known. The Southwestern Farm and Home Museum is a dream come true for John Stampe of Shipman, a retired farmer and collector of many antiques, including many farm tools, machinery, some household furniture, small kitchen tools and a large collection of bottles, jugs, dishes, etc. Mr. and Mrs. Stampe have given over 1000 different articles to the museum, plus displays of many small collections. Other persons have also donated antiques, with some items being on loan, and are displayed in the museum. Antique articles will continue to be received as long as there is space available. When visitors have finished a tour through the museum, they can stroll through the park to the Little Red School, see its interior and original furnishings, such as desks, pot-belly stove, blackboards, old dictionary and stand, maps, etc. The Little Red School was a Bicentennial project, restored in 1976 by the Kitchen Klatter Band, acting as the Bicentennial committee and sponsored by the Shipman Village Board. The school was used as a meeting place for various youth and adult organizations. It is the only one-room school in Macoupin County that has been preserved and is open for the public to view. It is now a Reading Center. Picnic pavilions are available in the park for your convenience after you have toured the museum and the school.

Years ago a friend said to me, “We don’t know how to homeschool.” In response, I remember being dumbfounded. Her children, like mine, had never been to school and both of us had teens. Needless to say I asked her to clarify what she meant. “We have all been educated in school. We unconsciously work from the school model. Our children have never been to school and therefore know more about what it means to be homeschooled than we do.” To this she added, “We need to follow their lead. When they want to learn something we should listen to them and follow that advice.”